Chapter 2: Taihao

“Taihao—Taihao—”

“Taihao—”

Inside the Coastal Meteorological Bureau’s research institute, a massive display panel showcased the weather map of the enormous typhoon. The swirling, converging patterns resembled a giant eye.

Below, a dozen or so people stared fixedly at the typhoon’s giant eye, as if possessed, murmuring the two syllables in a low, trance-like tone.

Taihao—

The two sounds echoed like a half-formed dream, indistinct yet captivating.

“What’s going on with them?” an elderly man anxiously asked a medical staff member investigating the situation.

After a brief examination, the emergency doctor looked baffled. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Their bodies seem normal, but mentally, they’re showing signs of delirium.”

“Delirium? Oh no, what should we do? These are my students. Maybe I put too much pressure on them. It’s my fault—I’ve failed their parents,” the elder said, tears welling up, heartbroken.

“Dr. Wang, it’s not your fault. Everyone’s been working overtime lately, and you’re right there on the front lines. Nobody expected something like this,” a colleague comforted him.

“Yeah, these kids—honestly, their workload isn’t heavier than ours. It might not be your fault,” another colleague added.

Dr. Wang shook his head, still worried. “Even if it’s not my fault, it’s still my responsibility. I designed the project, I brought them here. If something happens, I’m accountable.”

The doctor glanced at the dozen students in the hall and concluded, “I really can’t pinpoint any specific symptoms. Even if it were a brain disorder, it’s unlikely they’d all manifest simultaneously. And since they live and eat together, it doesn’t seem like food poisoning either.”

“Then what is it?” someone pressed.

“I suspect it’s mass hysteria, though it’s rare and I’m not entirely certain.”

Despite his concern, Dr. Wang was momentarily stunned. “Hysteria? You think it’s hysteria?”

“That’s my suspicion. But don’t worry, I’ll report this to higher authorities. More specialized doctors will come to investigate and arrange their transfer.”

“Old Wang, don’t worry. The doctors said it’s a mental issue, nothing serious—probably stress. Soon, the higher-ups will send reinforcements to relieve us old bones. We’ll assess their condition and give them a long, well-deserved break,” a colleague reassured him.

Dr. Wang ignored the remarks and looked at the doctor. “If that’s the case, why is it only my students who have hysteria? None of us do.”

The doctor scanned the institute and said uncertainly, “I don’t know much about mass hysteria, but here, I suspect it might be related to age.”

Dr. Wang looked around and realized that indeed, only his students were the youngest group in the institute. He couldn’t help but wonder, “Are young people really under so much pressure these days?”

The doctor thought for a moment and nodded firmly.

“Taihao—”

Hearing this, Dr. Wang turned to look. His students were still murmuring absentmindedly, and his worry deepened as he checked each one’s condition.

The doctor reported the situation and waited on-site for reinforcements, curious about the cause of this mass hysteria outbreak.

He pressed his ear close to one of the students’ lips, trying to catch the murmured words.

“Taihao—”

Frowning, the doctor repeated the word softly, “Taihao? Taihao? What’s ‘taihao’…?”

Following their gaze, he looked at the giant eye on the wind field map.

“Dr. Wang, does this typhoon have a name? Is it called Taihao?”

Dr. Wang shook his head. An older colleague from the institute chuckled softly, “Typhoon names aren’t chosen at random. According to the international typhoon naming list, this one should be ‘Sanda.’”

“Not Taihao?” The doctor stroked his chin, unable to think of any word pronounced ‘taihao.’

Suddenly, ambulance sirens blared around the institute, and the doors were flung open in a flurry.

“Where are the patients?”

Dr. Wang immediately looked up and saw a group of white-coated doctors rushing in, many of them senior physicians. Recognizing their urgency, he smiled with relief. “Here, doctors!”

A large team hurried over, instruments in hand, briefly assessed the patients, and began examinations.

The final diagnosis matched that of the young emergency doctor: likely mass hysteria, no life-threatening danger, but treatment was necessary.

All the students would be taken to the central hospital for care, with expenses fully covered. This gave Dr. Wang some peace of mind, as the central hospital’s medical capabilities were among the best on the coast, even nationwide. If they couldn’t treat it, nowhere else could.

This time, the hospital arranged enough ambulances to transport all the patients in one go.

Once the last ambulance departed, the remaining doctors tidied up briefly and, after briefing Dr. Wang, prepared to leave.

“Taihao—————”

The voice murmured like a dream, tinged with longing.

Everyone in the institute turned pale and looked toward the source of the voice.

It was none other than the young emergency doctor himself.

He, too, seemed possessed, staring intently at the typhoon wind field map.

~~

“At a moment like this, this incident has attracted the upper management’s attention. Those students are Professor Wang’s pride and joy at the Meteorological Bureau. We need to find a proper treatment plan.”

“Director Feng, you’re the top expert in psychiatry. You’ll lead the investigation.”

“Alright, I’ll start. We don’t have much data on mass hysteria. Treatment will focus on conventional methods for now.”

“And that emergency doctor—he developed mass hysteria in just a few dozen minutes. We should study the cause and transmission mechanism in detail…”

Bang—

The hospital conference room door was flung open abruptly. A physician entered in a panic, staring at everyone inside.

“This hysteria is contagious! Dr. Wang and the psychiatric nurse assistant have been infected!”

“What?!”

The doctors were stunned.

The meeting’s chair, the central hospital’s director, immediately sensed danger and decisively ordered, “Begin emergency protocols for infectious diseases at once, and file a report.”

“This… hysteria counts as infectious? If we treat it that way, the hospital could be quarantined.”

The director hesitated, then bit his lip. “It does. Report it under my name immediately.”

Deputy Director Feng, upon hearing Dr. Wang was infected, reacted the strongest. Wang was his subordinate. Feng rushed to see him but wisely wore protective gear to avoid microbial infection.

Yet, the contagion was strange because no obvious infectious microbes had been detected in the patients before admission.

Dr. Wang and his nurse were isolated in the office. Others, following the infectious disease protocol, voluntarily began cleaning, disinfecting, and quarantining.

Deputy Director Feng opened the door to find Dr. Wang sitting in a chair, murmuring softly, with the nurse beside him.

Later, some doctors and the director arrived late, clad in protective suits, crowding at the office door, listening to Dr. Wang’s murmurs.

“Taihao—”